The present invention relates to an agricultural machine with a controllably moveable implement for working row cultures and to a method for controlling an agricultural machine with an implement having at least one controllably moveable section.
Agricultural machines for working row cultures usually comprise an implement, which is arranged transversely to a travelling direction or a longitudinal axis of the machine and a plurality of working devices for working the plants of the row culture arranged in rows. The working devices can be equipped for mechanically or contactlessly working the row culture, for example, for outputting fertilizer or pesticides. The agricultural machines in this case frequently have a section control, in which the working devices are activated individually or in groups, so that with overlapping working strips, plant rows or individual plants of the row culture are each worked only once in order to avoid, for example, over-fertilizing or mechanically damaging the row culture.
Controlling the section shutoff is effected manually by an operator of the agricultural machine or automatically, for example, through a control unit that is coupled in particular to a navigation system. For improving the working of the row culture, a section control of the implement is generally provided in which working devices combined into sections are moveable transversely to the travelling direction of the machine so that the working devices can be better guided along the plants of the row culture.
EP 2 342 963 A1 discloses a method and a machine for outputting an input, for example, seeds or pesticides, on an agricultural field, wherein a plurality of input dispensers for outputting the input are provided. The machine has a section control in which the input dispensers are designed switchable individually or in groups. Controlling the sections and/or the input dispensers is effected by a control system, wherein the machine furthermore comprises an automated, GPS-based locating and steering system, in order to avoid double outputting of the input on the surfaces which are passed by the machine twice. Here, during the first pass of the area, the corresponding input dispensers are deactivated, so that the input is only output on the area concerned upon the second pass in order to minimise or avoid interfering with the already output input during a second pass. Through the automated section control, the handling of the implement is facilitated for the operator and the precision of the output increased, but the operator is not supported in controlling the working devices along the plant rows of the row culture.